Daniel Pensa Movies

A young man who has grown up on the streets wants to do right by his mother -- even as he lives outside the law -- in this stylish action drama from Spain. Ricky (Mario Casas) was only 12 years old when he was left to fend for himself after his mother Pura (Angela Molina) ended up in jail on prostitution charges. Even though she let him down, Ricky is still devoted to his mom as he pedals goods on the street to support himself and lives with a makeshift family that includes Angelito (Vicente Romero), a low-rent pimp; his half-bright sidekick The Kid (Luciano Caceres); Angelito's drug-addicted lover Scrag (Macarena Gomez); and Princess (Damaso Conde), an eccentric cross-dresser convinced she's descended from royalty. Eager to give his mother a better life, Ricky wants to open a brothel that she can run when she's released from prison, and with some help from Angelito and The Kid, he's nearly gotten the illegal business off the ground when he discovers Pura's growing senility would make it impossible for her to run the establishment. Even worse, local gangster El Chino (Dario Grandinetti) doesn't like Ricky giving him competition and demands a huge protection payment if the business is to stay open. Ricky doesn't have the sort of bankroll El Chino demands, so he and his partners make a desperate attempt to raise the cash by kidnapping Veronica (Blanca Suarez), whose father is a powerful but dishonest police detective (Antonio de la Torre). Carne de Néon (aka Neon Flesh) was written and directed by Paco Cabezas, who adapted the story from a short subject he made in 2005. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Argentinean filmmaker Eliseo Subiela directed this idiosyncratic drama that uses sex and love as a springboard for an exploration of bold philosophical ideas. Twenty-something Eloy (Leandro Stivelman) has a gift for walking on stilts that her inherited from his father, but while Dad tried to use this talent for creative purposes, Eloy has made a career out of his skill, wandering the city dressed as a high-rise sandwich to promote a diner. One day, a stumble causes Eloy to crash through a ceiling window into the bedroom of Elvira (Antonella Costa), an attractive older woman. Both Elvira and her mother (Maria Elena Ruaz) are convinced that a greater destiny has brought Eloy into her life, and she takes the young man under her wing. Eloy loves women and is delighted when Elvira expresses a powerfully sexual interest in him, but she's a student of tantric sex techniques, and as she opens his eyes to the possibilities of lovemaking, he's introduced to new worlds of eroticism that allow him to leave his body and travel through time and space. No Mires Para Abajo (aka Don't Look Down) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Guadalajara Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi